One of my favorite stories of this season so far has been the breakout play of the Nuggets’ Will “The Thrill” Barton.

He’s had a lot of great dunks this season but we knew he could dunk from his days in Portland. What many didn’t know when he came over from Portland for Arron Afflalo was how great of a scorer the toothpick skinny Barton could be. In December, he scored 20+ 8 times. Against the Lakers, he had 23 in the first half (don’t ask about the 2nd, damn you Kobe)! He also had two impressive double-doubles in the past month: a 21 point, 13 rebound, 7 assist game vs the Warriors and a 32 point, 10 rebound, 6 assist one against the Pelicans.

I can’t say I’m that surprised by his success either. We knew it was just a matter of time until he started putting up the crazy numbers that makes him a fan favorite of daily fantasy players. We remember when he was running Baltimore as the best shooting guard in the nation. We remember when a rookie Barton dropped a ridiculous 72 points in Baltimore against a bunch of NBA pros (Kemba Walker, Brandon Jennings, Derrick Williams, DeAndre Jordan) in a Pro-Am exhibition game called “Protect This House.” I don’t expect to see Barton challenging those numbers in a NBA game but I do expect to see a lot more of the dunks, threes and big games from Will for the rest of this season and hopefully for seasons to come.

NBA CAREER-HIGH + GAME WINNER IN 2017

About the Author

Astramskas, David Aka VincentDa & RedApples fka Expiredpineapples. My alter-ego is a digital-marketing guy in Houston. Won editing awards & created obsolete flash websites that have been featured in mags like Sports Illustrated. Studied film & women at FSU during the golden age of hip-hop. Collects records, laserdiscs, sports memorabilia & toys. Father of 2 daughters that are more athletic and popular on YouTube.